Pin-to-pin measurements enable measuring various timing parameters of device pins for an integrated circuit device. With regards to a clock signal, pin-to-pin measurements enable setup measurements which measure the time before a clock edge occurs when the data must be valid, a hold measurement which measures the time the data must be valid after the clock edge occurs, a clock-to-output measurement which measures the time from clock-to-output pin changing, a minimum pulse width measurement which measures a minimum pulse width that can be used and still have a clock edge occur, and a straight delay time such as a propagation time measuring the time from the input changing to an output changing, for example.
Traditional methods of acquiring pin-to-pin measurements require the movement of the appropriate edges of a signal and then testing to see if the new timing passes or fails. According to one conventional method of acquiring point-to-point measurements, a binary search could be performed, where half of a search range is eliminated with each test. However, the use of a binary search in point-to-point measurements can lead to problems and has a number of drawback. For example, it is necessary to set timing manually many times, which may be time consuming. It is also necessary that vectors run multiple times, depending on number of cycles to be run, which can also take significant test time. Also, the binary search may not be easily modified to test multiple devices under test (DUTs), which may also be called sites, in parallel. That is, it is necessary to track pass/fail values for each DUT and determine when the testing is complete. A binary search is also commonly done as a serial test for each active DUT, where it is necessary to test each DUT independently.
According to another conventional method of acquiring point-to-point measurements, a linear search could be performed. However, a linear search also has a number of drawbacks. For example, it is necessary to set edge timing multiple times and the vectors must be run multiple times, which can be slow. Depending on number of cycles to be run this can take significant test time. Also, a search window must be narrow or a resolution of the test results reduced. That is, a wider window requires more steps to be taken with corresponding additional test time, while a greater resolution also requires more steps to be taken, also resulting in a corresponding additional test time. A small search window requires knowing the approximate results before testing begins, where results may vary greatly with temperature or test conditions.